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Events and Updates from South Church.

NUUSflash - November 1, 2016
News you can use, from the Unitarian Universalist Church of Portsmouth
Worship

Vespers: A Contemplative Midweek Service: Let music and words, quiet and candle lighting refresh your soul in the midst of a busy week. Vespers is a lay-led service on Thursday evenings from 6-6:30 pm, October through April, in the sanctuary at South Church.
 
November 3 - Amy Antonucci will offer a short program of Sacred Circle Dances to honor Sanheim and the shorter days. Participatory dancing is encouraged, but also feel free to sit back and revel in the dark of the season, the light of the candles, and the exquisite dance music. 

November 10 - Cathy Okhuysen will lead a Vespers honoring Military Veterans. All who serve or have served, whether in peacetime or in war, have given so much. Please email cathomusic@gmail.com with names of Veterans you would like named during the service, even if you cannot attend. The November theme for worship is storytelling, so feel free to include a short anecdote about your Veteran. 

Connect

Sanctuary Decorating - Please join us as we gather on Friday morning, December 2nd from 9-11am as we decorate the sanctuary for the holidays. Adult volunteers will decorate the sanctuary for with wreaths, greens and poinsettias. All are welcome. Memorial contributions will be gratefully received between and after Sunday services on November 6, 11, 20 and 27 in the Parish Hall, or you may send a donation to the church office with "2016 Sanctuary Decorations" written on the memo line. Please join us!

LGBTQ Potluck Supper - The ministers and the Social Justice Associate's are organizing a couple of forums for the current LGBTQ community to respond to how we are doing as a welcoming congregation in meeting the needs of our LGBTQ members. Please come to this potluck to weigh in on this topic and connect with others in the LGBTQ South Church community. Dinner will be hosted by Laurie Bilby at her home in Kittery Point, Maine on Saturday, December 3 from 5:30-7:30pm. Please contact Laurie and RSVP to turningtide@comcast.net. 

Reflect on the Monthly Worship Theme: during Social Hour! Help us explore our themes as a community by writing about what "Storytelling" means to you. Check out our Theme Reflection Board located on the wall in Parish Hall. We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for game enthusiasts of all ages! If you love to play board or card games come Saturday, November 5th, 6-8 pm, to meet new people, build community, and enjoy some friendly competition. There will be games for all ages and interests, such as Candyland, Pictionary, Apples-to-Apples, and maybe even charades. Light snacks and drinks will be provided. In the Parish Hall at South Church. For more information, contact Fellowship Associate Anne Deminoff at (603) 436-4197 or email the_dem@comcast.net

New Jigsaw Puzzle Activity Table at Coffee Hour: For the reluctant, reticent, and retiring—or just those who love doing jigsaw puzzles—you are invited to engage differently at Coffee Hour. Come check out the new jigsaw puzzle activity table, rub elbows with new and old friends, and help put together a communal puzzle. Donated or loaned puzzles will be welcomed.

Understanding Drinking Water Quality - On Thursday, November 17 at the Portsmouth Public Library, Paul Susca of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services will present information about public and private drinking water supply systems, how to understand water test results, contaminants of concern in drinking water, and how climate change may impact our regional drinking water supplies. The presentation will be followed by a facilitated discussion. Light refreshments will be provided. Please contact Liz Wilson at lizwwilson@gmail.com for more information. 

Serve


The Power of Stories: Books for Inmates and their Children: Stories can give hop, insight and pleasure. Bring new, or like new adult novels, mysteries, self-help and creative non-fiction, as well as children's books to the church during our book drive for the Strafford County Jail Library and Family Center from November 6 - December 18. All books must be in excellent condition. RiverRun Bookstore can help you make selections, especially for children's books. Watch for collection boxes and add your own beautiful books to the bins.

Moms Demand Action Request: Over the last year the Social Justice Associates (SJA) have partnered with Moms Demand Action (MDA) on various events/legislative actions. Now MDA is asking voters to pledge to be “Gun Sense Voters” holding candidates accountable on sensible gun laws/reforms. You can sign up online at gunsensevoter.org. Please visit the SJA table during coffee hour for more info.

The 1-1-1 Crew: Ushers!: Think simple, low-impact time commitment. Think "sweet way to help out!" Join the 1-1-1 Crew by becoming an usher! One year, one Sunday a month, one service per Sunday. Pass the orders of service, pass the plate, count. In a full year of service, you help out 12 times. And the impact of your warm welcome to those crossing the threshold into Worship is huge. Please join us. The next cycle runs January 2017-January 2018. Contact Tracey Clarkson at tbc63@comcast.net or Kimberly Green at luckyfish2@myfairpoint.net

Solarize Seacoast Maine - New Information: I’m sure you have heard about “Solarize Seacoast Maine”--a bulk purchasing program of solar panels for Kittery, York, Eliot, and South Berwick. The more folks who participate, the lower the cost. Hilary Clark, Julia O’Connell, and Betty Olivolo have been helping to coordinate the initial phase. For more information or to sign up, go to http://solarizeseacoastmaine.com/contact/. Deadline for sign up is Dec 31st. 2016.

NUUS from Religious Education 

Volunteers Needed! To work with our incredible south church kids!  Please email if you're interested in signing up to teach or be a roaming supervisor and our DRE, Kirsten Hunter, will tell you everything you need to know!  kirsten@southchurch-uu.org

If you have any questions about any of our youth programming at South Church, feel free to contact our Director of Religious Education, Kirsten Hunter, at:  Kirsten@southchurch-uu.org  or 603-436-4762

Upcoming R.E. Schedule & Events: For more information on these and other RE happenings, visit the South Church website at southchurch-uu.org and click on the "Religious Education News" button under the "what we offer" banner.

RE Program for the 2016-17 church year. This year's program includes:
 
Nursery for infants up to children age 3 open from 8:45am to 12:15pm Sundays.
Spirit Play a Montessori program for Pre Kinder and Kindergarten students.
Theme based workshop offerings for children in 1st-7th grade.
Coming of Age a year long rite of passage for 8th graders.
Senior Youth Group for high school students in grades 9-12 meets most Sundays from 4-5:30pm. 
South Church also offers OWL a comprehensive sexuality education program. This year OWL will be offered for 5th grade and also for 7th grade students.
 

CONNECT WITH US


From Your

Ministers.
 

It's the nature of my job:  I get to spend most of my time with the people who show up.
 
And that has made all the difference.
 
It's been a brutal election season, and a long one.  I'm an optimist by nature, an idealist with a patriotic soul.  Every other election day, I have looked forward to voting.  I love going to the polls and seeing neighbors I know and neighbors I don't participating in the democratic process.  It's wonderful to see the poll workers who volunteer their time to make it happen, and who are so earnest in fulfilling their duties.  Every time I go, it moves me.
 
Political freedom is not free, after all.  We contribute to it in so many ways--with our time, our good will, our commitment to participating in the democratic process, our taxes, and the sacrifices of service.
 
This year, I've been dreading Election Day, wishing for the whole mess to be done, wishing I'd applied to vote absentee.  But there are a few things that push against that cynicism:
 
First, there’s my cousin Louis Torres who was killed by an i.e.d. in Afghanistan in 2012.  I keep his picture in the pulpit as a reminder that we can never let up in our commitment to peace.
 
And then there’s you.  I get to spend my time with you.  I get to spend my time with the people who show up to replenish your spirits and serve the community in large and small ways.  My days are filled with meetings in which the over-arching theme is "How might we serve better?"  In a Pastoral Associate meeting, the question might be "How can we help get Karen a ride to her doctor's appointment?"  Or at a Green Sanctuary gathering: "How can we raise awareness about water issues in New Hampshire and Maine?"  And then there's the just-plain-fun of tooling around the churchyard while our senior youth sell hot cocoa, watching as a band of zombies dance to "Thriller" in Portsmouth's annual Halloween parade.  And so on.  All day, I get to be with good people helping to create a more just and loving, vibrant and beautiful world.
 
Thank God for you.  You keep me going.  You remind me daily of what is best in community and in our country.
 
So I'll get through the next week with you all in my hearts, and I'll carry some optimism with me to the polls.
 
It's an important moment to contribute what we can for the restoration of our communities and our democracy.  
 
There's a lot at stake.  
 
Thank you for all the ways you show up.
 
And if the election's got you down, come to church and fill your soul. There are good people at South Church--and at lots of other places all over the country--working on behalf of the greater good.
 
And don't forget to show up on election day!  Your vote matters, and someone like me will be glad to see your face.
 
See you in church!
 
Love,
 
Lauren
 

 




CONTACT US

 

South Church Unitarian Universalist
73 Court Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801

Add us to your address book

Rev. Lauren Smith
revlauren@southchurch-uu.org

Rev. Chris Holton Jablonski
revchris@southchurch-uu.org

Kirsten Hunter
Director of Religious Education
kirsten@southchurch-uu.org

Joanne Connolly
Director of Music
music@southchurch-uu.org

Jennifer Leyden
Office Administrator
jen@southchurch-uu.org

Lisa Donnelly
Finance Administrator
lisa@southchurch-uu.org

Cat Lyons
RE Assistant
reassist@southchurch-uu.org

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Sunday Services and Young Church are held on Sundays at 9:00 and 11:00am, September through May. And at 10:00am June through August. We are handicap accessible and have assisted listening devices.

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